Asthma, as I’m sure you may already know, is a condition that causes a person to experience difficulty breathing due to the constriction of airflow to the lungs. You should always consult a doctor when it comes to controlling and treating your asthma, so before you practice any of the methods mentioned in this article. Be sure to check with your doctor to make sure they are safe for you to do. Understanding what causes and triggers your asthma is one of the best measures you can take to control it. You should always know what you are up against. Below are ten methods you can implement to control asthma.
1.) Whenever possible, refrain from any type of activity you know will trigger your asthma. This is one of the easiest steps you can take to control your asthma because it’s totally in your control. You make the decision to do something that will trigger your asthma, no one else.
2.) Use meditation techniques and breathing exercises to help strengthen your lungs and control your breathing. I would recommend picking up a book or DVD on yoga and following the exercises it offers. There is also plenty of free information you can find online about yoga and meditation. Just search Google for “breathing exercises,” “yoga exercises” and/or “How to meditate.
3.) Do other kinds of cardiovascular exercises if you can. Of course, don’t try to do anything that will trigger your asthma like, running, for example. A steady paced walk or light jog should do the trick.
4.) Use aerosol, dry powder, or actuated inhalers. They will give you the quickest relief.
5.) Keep your home and work environments nice and clean by vacuuming and dusting regularly. This will help keep dust, fur, hair, dirt, pollen and other nasty things that may irritate your lungs out of the air you are breathing.
6.) Run the AC all the time. No, I don’t mean “Associated Content,” I’m talking about the air conditioning. This keeps inline with #5. Central air conditioners have filters in the vents that will also keep the air clean by constantly circulating it through the vents.
7.) Don’t smoke… anything… ever. You may be laughing at how “duh” this is, but you’d be surprised how many times I’ve seen an asthmatic light up in my life. I’m not really against smoking, as I smoke, myself, but lets face it, you’re breathing fire. That just can’t be anything other than bad for your lungs.
As I said in the beginning of the article, be sure to ask your doctor if it’s alright for you to practice any of these methods for controlling asthma. Except the ‘not smoking’ one; I’m sure he/she will agree with that. It’s not hard for a lot of asthmatics to control their asthma if they follow these basic practices and guidelines. Some of them may be hard to get in the habit of doing at first, but once are able to control asthma, you will be very glad you took the time and effort to live the kind of lifestyle it takes.
